Berklee College of Music

Boston, MA · founded 1945 · 7,000 students · specialty arts

Known for: The world's largest independent college of contemporary music, renowned for its programs in jazz, film scoring, music production, and performance, with a focus on modern music careers.

Top programmes

Film Scoring
Music Production & Engineering
Jazz Composition
Songwriting
Music Business
Performance

Notable alumni

Quincy Jones — Legendary record producer, composer, and arranger
John Mayer — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist
St. Vincent — Grammy-winning musician and singer-songwriter
Melissa Etheridge — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter
Charlie Puth — Singer-songwriter and record producer
Howard Shore — Composer, known for scores to 'The Lord of the Rings' films
Esperanza Spalding — Grammy-winning jazz bassist and singer
Aimee Mann — Singer-songwriter

Traditions

Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival
Commencement Concert
Annual Singer Showcase
A Cappella Group performances

If Berklee College of Music were…

As a food: Mission-style burrito — Packed with everything, customizable to taste, and unpretentious despite its sophistication. Berklee throws every genre, every style, every influence into one place—you build your own musical identity from the options.
As an athlete: LeBron James — Versatile, collaborative, business-savvy, and still hungry after decades at the top. Berklee students master multiple styles, understand the industry, and know that longevity requires constant evolution.
As a person alive today: Esperanza Spalding — Berklee grad who defies genre boundaries, wins Grammys, and proves that conservatory training and radical creativity aren't mutually exclusive. She embodies the school's blend of chops and innovation.
As a historical figure: Duke Ellington — Composer, bandleader, entrepreneur, and collaborator who elevated American music while staying rooted in craft. Berklee's ethos is Ellington's—master your instrument, lead your ensemble, and build a career.
As a movie or TV show: A Star Is Born (2018) — Raw talent meets industry machinery, collaboration sparks creativity, and the line between art and commerce blurs. Berklee is where bedroom producers become hitmakers and jazz nerds tour stadiums.
As a US president: Bill Clinton — Charismatic, collaborative, saxophone-playing, and fluent in multiple musical (and political) languages. Berklee students network relentlessly, adapt to any room, and know how to work a crowd.
As a city: Nashville — Music is the economy, collaboration is the currency, and everyone's either cutting a record or playing a showcase. Berklee's campus pulses with the same 24/7 creative hustle, just with better public transit.
As an element: Carbon — Bonds with everything, forms infinite structures, and is the basis of all organic life. Berklee musicians are chameleons—jazz, pop, EDM, film scoring—adapting and connecting across every musical ecosystem.
As a car: 2023 MINI Cooper S Hardtop — Berklee's jazz-fusion creativity and global music network fit this nimble, collaborative city car that improvises through Boston's tight streets. It's industry-connected, internationally styled, and plays well with other

Campus life

Vibrant, creative, and constantly filled with music. Students are always practicing, jamming, and collaborating across genres. The atmosphere is less competitive and more collaborative than classical conservatories, with a strong focus on contemporary music and industry preparation.

The film, scored

This profile answers “if Berklee College of Music were a movie or TV show?” with A Star Is Born (2018). Raw talent meets industry machinery, collaboration sparks creativity, and the line between art and commerce blurs. Berklee is where bedroom producers become hitmakers and jazz nerds tour stadiums. It sits in the 60th percentile on rankquant, which re-centres every critic score on the reviewer who gave it, so a percentile means position against peers rather than a raw star average. The full film & TV catalogue ranks the rest the same way.